FQ VII

The 8 Main Guilds

Though Citadel is home to countless guilds that spread across Gaia, the Council of 8, also known as the 8 Main Guilds, are the ones who control the political power in Citadel, and have the most influence across the world.

The Azure Storm:

The Azure Storm is one of the main mercenary guilds of Citadel. They are vast in number and provide soldiers, body guards, and hired swords to those who request their aid. The Azure storm have a sense of duty and honor and will not take on any job they consider underhanded, dirty, or cruel. They are constantly at odds with the Crimson Blades. Their colors are white and blue and their symbol is a sword covered in wind

The Crimson Blades:

The Crimson Blades are the second main mercenary guild of guard. They are just as numerous as the Azure Storm, but unlike the Azure Storm they have no scruples in terms of their jobs. Many might consider the Crimson Blades underhanded, however, they do defend that they are the more loyal of the two. If an Azure Storm believes their mission to be against their personal code halfway through they are likely to forfeit the contract and go back on the deal. A Crimson Blade, however, you can trust to complete the job, no matter what the task. There is a personal saying amongst the Crimson Blades. “Loyalty to the coin is loyalty nonetheless.” Their colors are Red and their symbol is an Ax and Sword covered in blood.

Currently led by a fierce warrior named Elerayne

Fortune’s Market:

Fortune’s Market is the merchant guild and controls the moneychangers and banks of the world. They mint money, negotiate trade routes, and control interest rates. Though they have to fall back and depend on other guilds for protection, Fortune’s Market is arguable the most powerful of all the guilds. Their colors are gold and blue and their symbol is a bag of money and a coin.

Ruin’s Gate:

The Underground is a scary place, but it is also rife with treasure. Ancient cities lost and forgotten, mines of Byeshk, rare and expensive artifacts…all off these are things Ruin’s Gate specializes in and has the market cornered on. They are specialized in combating the aberrations that lurk Underground as well as drow, duergar and other creatures of the underground.

But that is only one half of their specialized guild. They also investigate and protect the Gates of Madness. Though there is no direct money in doing so, they believe it an important task to keep these gets protected and keep knowledge about the Wars of Madness fresh in the people’s mind. Much of the money they make goes to this secondary task. Their color is purple and their symbol is a large gate with a sunburst in the middle.

The Children of Freya:

Once a purely female mercenary guild, in order to survive through the years and the Guild Wars the Children of Freya have expanded to a variety of other tasks as well, including the addition of male members. The Children of Freya believe in the house and the family, as well as nature. They specialize in helping people rebuild from disasters and from protecting small villages from bandit attacks. They are also hospitalers, healers, and experts in agriculture. And even though they now allow men into their ranks, it is still a heavily female dominated guild, and the guild leader must always be a woman. Their color is green and their symbol is a leaf and a spear.

The Hunting Blades

Monsters roam the world, and it is the Hunting Blades’ duty to destroy them. They are specialists in hunting, finding, and killing the many beasts that roam the earth. They are somewhat zealous towards this goal, but their ability and skill to strike down even the most powerful beast has kept them a powerful guild. Their colors are black and orange and their symbol is a slain Chimera

The Crows

The Crows are by the most secretive and enigmatic of any of the guilds. They are a guild of thieves, assassins, and saboteurs. Their leadership is unknown, and with each guild council meeting they are represented by a proxy for the true guild head. Many rumors persist about the crows, everything as simple as basic corruption and bribery, to the outlandish, that they somehow control governments through a series of blackmail and subterfuge. Nonetheless, the power of the Crows is not questioned among the guilds. Their color is black and their symbol is a crow.

The Cairn:

Despite its unorthodox and unusual name, The Cairn is the top crafting guild of Citadel. Originally a low masonry guild, it expanded into weapons and steel production around the 12th century. It was the legendary Alyssa Gordona who realized that a single crafting guild could only do so much. But if you controlled the iron and steel, you would hold the guilds in your grasp. And with a contract with House Aldmar and Fortune’s Market, The railways, built on Cairn Steel, crossed the land and propelled The Cairn into the Guild Council, ousting the former Bladesmith guild. Now, many of the weapons, vehicles, tools and armor used throughout the world are made of Cairn Steel. Their colors are light and dark grey, and their symbol is a pile of stones.